Neel Doff (1858-1942)

The Author: Evelyne Wilwerth was born in Belgium in 1947. She is a graduate of the University of Leuven and writing is her full-time profession. She is the author of various books of poetry, short stories, essays and dramas.
The Translator: Renée Linkhorn is a professor of French and the author of many articles on literary criticism; she is also a translator of poetry and prose (Andrée Chedid and Pierre Reverdy among others).

"Thanks to an expert translator, the 'love story' of a Belgian creative writer for another - one century apart - becomes available in English. Wilwerth's biography creates, perhaps resurrects, Neel Doff. Her book is a genuine feat, combining the most rigorous archival research with a dazzling talent for (re)creating life through dialog and authentic co-passion. Here is the life of a beautiful 'miserable' and authentic co-passion. Here is the life of a beautiful 'miserable' and a trickster, who took some thirty years to discover and possess her own definitive true self through writing." (Christiane Makward, Pennsylvania State University)
"'Neel Doff' is the first biography I ever read that is truly 'communicative.' Through the ongoing dialogue, the polyphonic voices, the dialectics of Otherness, readers can truly feel involved in the narrative process.." (Jean A. Gitenet, University of Stockholm)
"From a life of prostitution in the streets of Antwerp and Brussels to involvement in the highest political and artistic circles in Belgium and a career as a successful novelist, Neel Doff is the first woman to be nominated for the 'Prix Goncourt'. This riveting biography explores all stratum of turn-of-the century society while unfolding a tale of inspiring courage and determination." (Donald Flanell Friedman, Winthrop University, South Carolina)